


Emma’s Fall

by BecaFNMitchell



Category: Original Work
Genre: Depression, Self-Harm, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-01-16
Updated: 2020-01-16
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:55:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,413
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22275193
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BecaFNMitchell/pseuds/BecaFNMitchell
Summary: Emma was perfect. Or so she said.





	1. Emma: the beginning

It all started 10 years ago. That was when Emma knew she had a problem. She couldn't focus, couldn't breathe, couldn't even cry out for help. She was trapped in her own head. Paralyzed by what was supposed to help her soar to new heights. All she could do was lay in her bed and think about how much of a fuck up she had become.

She wasn't always like this. When she was younger, she was always supposed to be the best. She learned how to act prim and proper, with impeccable manners to match. She was always one of the smartest in the room, able to hold a conversation with anyone, of any age. She always knew the right answer and found the right solution to every problem. She was able to make friends with anyone, from the most popular girl to the boy who just wanted to sit by himself at lunch. She had an electric personality that just drew people in. Of course, once the initial excitement wore off, she was left alone and isolated. "It's fine," she would tell herself, "I can just make new friends, it's not that bad!"But eventually that wasn't enough. She couldn't believe that anyone could ever want to hang out with her because she was a worthless thing that was worse than dirt.

Emma began to cut herself because she couldn't take the pressure anymore. The weight of the expectations piled on her mounted too high and pushed her over the edge. She would feel ashamed about it immediately after she finished, but she couldn't stop. It was like an addiction. Soon, it consumed every minute of her day. If she wasn't cutting, she was thinking about it, dreaming about it, imagining the crisp feel of the metal against her skin. She refused to tell anyone because she feared their judgement. "I need to handle this on my own, if I can't I'm just weak." This went on for 3 years, until she took it too far.

After another stressful day, Emma went home to seek the comfort of her blade. But, this time she cut too deep. She wasn't trying to, it had just been an extra stressful day, and she needed a little extra relief. When she came to, 3 hours later, her best friend Jasmine was kneeling beside her. "This needs to stop, Emma! I don't know how long you've been doing this, but I wish you would have told me. I never would have judged you. I just wish you could see that you have so much to live for." Emma apologized and pleaded with Jasmine not to tell anyone else. "I'll stop, I swear. I just needed a little bit of relief. This will be the last time, I promise."

But these were all empty promises. Emma was sick in ways she couldn't even understand. She was able to hide it from most people, but every day it became harder to put on the mask she wore to seem fine. The claws of depression had sunk into her brain and caused irreparable damage. She hated everything about herself, no matter what. She no longer believed she was worthy of love.

Emma then began to drink her problems away. All of the promise she showed as a young girl was washed away in a flood of booze and blood. This was when others began to notice. Emma would field questions about how she was doing, and if she felt all right, but she would just try to laugh it off and make the other person think that they were crazy. All of Emma's wonderful qualities were gone.

Then, in a blink, it was all over. This time, Emma fell over the edge. She had spent all of her money on alcohol to stop thinking, but her supply was gone. In a drunken rage, she threw her bottle against the wall. The glass shattered in a spray of crystals that sparkled in the early morning sun. She picked up the sharpest piece and began to cut deeper than she had ever cut before. Her final thought was, "I'm finally getting what I deserve."

Then there was nothing. All of her problems faded away with the final breath she would ever take. But, if only she could have known the heartache that her death would cause to the people she was closest to.


	2. Jasmine: The Spiderweb

Jasmine thought she was lucky. She had a loving boyfriend, a loving family, and the best friend she could ever ask for. Emma was always so nice and caring, but Jasmine knew that something darker lay beneath the surface. Jasmine had noticed that Emma started only wearing pants and long sleeves. One day, Emma didn’t show up to school. Jasmine went to Emma’s house to check on her, fearing the worst. She found Emma lying in a pool of her own blood, but still alive. Jasmine ran to the toilet and threw up because it was so horrifying to see her friend like that. She then knelt by her friend’s side to try to clean her up. When Emma woke, Jasmine pleaded with her to get some help. “Please, I need you here. You’re worth so much, I wish you could see that.” Emma apologized for the pain she had caused Jasmine and promised to try and work to get better. 

After this incident, Emma and Jasmine grew apart. Jasmine tried to maintain the friendship but Emma kept pushing her away. 

Months passed without Jasmine hearing a word from Emma. Jasmine still watched out for her, but did it in the background. She just couldn’t bear the thought of not having her best friend. 

The day that Emma died, Jasmine knew something was wrong. She had seen Emma storm out of the room earlier that day, but assumed she had managed to calm herself down. When Emma didn’t show up the next day, Jasmine just assumed that she had a bad hangover and called in sick. But Jasmine didn’t know how wrong she was. Emma had finally met her match. She lost to the demon that had plagued her since childhood. 

When Jasmine heard what Emma had done, she immediately blamed herself. “I should’ve been a better friend!” She cried to Emma’s mother, Sarah. “I knew she had a problem, but I never thought she would do this to herself!” 

Jasmine blamed herself for not telling anyone about Emma’s problems. She knew in her heart that there was nothing that could’ve been done, but she still felt immense guilt. “If only I could’ve been a better friend,” she thought, “maybe I could’ve helped her.” But this was all in vain. 

Every year on the anniversary of Emma’s death, which was also her birthday, Jasmine would go to a cliff that overlooked the sea. This spot was where her and Emma used to spend hours talking, joking, laughing, and crying about everything under the cover of the stars. Jasmine visited this place because it was where she felt closest to Emma. She would spend at least an hour there, always with a flower that she used to represent Emma. Sometimes she brought her boyfriend, who became her husband later on, and eventually she brought her son, Emmett, to mourn the great friend she had lost so many years before. 

Jasmine never felt the urge to explain the importance of Emma to Emmett. She knew she would have to eventually, but didn’t want to expose him to the harsh realities the world can cause before he had experienced the beauty of the world for himself. Emma was his namesake, and he seemed to automatically know that this person had a special place in his mother’s heart. He didn’t understand who she was, but knew she was his mother’s old friend, who had died tragically at a young age. 

Emmett grew to love the day that he would spend on the cliff with his mom and dad. He would notice the tears in his mother’s eye as she thought about the friend she had lost, but always called them happy tears. He hoped when he was older, that he would have a friend as close as his mom and Emma must have been. He vowed to spend every day trying to learn more about Emma and be the great person that she had to have been. He wanted to honor his mother’s best friend who was gone far too soon.


End file.
